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Shorter Architectural Education

With Brexit maybe it is time for RIBA to review its recommendations for changing architectural education and go for something more radical.

In 2015 RIBA agreed some recommendations to change architectural education, mainly to allow professional experience part of the qualification to start earlier and so potentially reduce the time it takes to qualify. Sadly this will not reduce the cost of qualification significantly. Could they be more radical and tackle this most important issue.

We suggest a 3 year full time degree in architecture with 3 years part time (1 day a week in college) to qualify as an architect.

This would save significant fees and allow students to earn at the same time which overall should greatly reduce debt on qualification. In order to reduce the course by a year some formal educational elements would be cut back. Qualification should not be the end of one’s education either through work or one’s own interests we continue to learn. This could be formalised with optional part Masters courses.

Reducing the cost of architectural education should be a priority for the RIBA. Increasing wages of architects is a herculian task beyond RIBA but it could reduce the debts of those at the bottom. There is a concern that those who make the decisions - RIBA apparatchiks who many of whom are probably old enough not to have paid fees and universities who rely on fees are maybe not so interested in reducing fees.